Preventable cancer cases and deaths attributable to alcohol consumption in Korea from 2015 to 2030

Alcohol consumption is causally linked to several cancers, and major health organizations classify it as a carcinogen. This study assessed the impact of alcohol consumption on cancer incidence and mortality in Korea in 2015 and 2020, projected trends up to 2030, and compared results based on different criteria.

The relative risk of cancer associated with alcohol consumption in Korea was determined through a meta-analysis of alcohol-related relative risks for specific cancers, using primary data from the Korean Cohort Study within the Korean Cohort Consortium. The population-attributable fraction (PAF) was calculated using Levin's formula, incorporating drinking prevalence and the number of cancer cases and deaths, with a 15-year latency period assumed.

In Korea, the PAF for alcohol consumption, based on ever/never drinking criteria, was higher than that calculated using other criteria, except for the PAF based on past and current/never drinking criteria. Alcohol consumption contributed to 3.58% of all cancer cases and 3.28% of cancer deaths in 2015. It accounted for 4.58% of new cancer cases in male and 2.08% in female, with a higher contribution to incidence than mortality (4.00 and 2.25% of cancer deaths in male and female, respectively). Projections indicate that alcohol-related cancer PAF will decrease by 17.2% in male but increase by 70.2% in female by 2030.

This study highlights the impact of alcohol consumption on cancer in Korea, emphasizing the need for sex-specific regulations to address sex differences.